Once in awhile your cotton socks get blown off by a wonderful experience, something breathtaking and sublime and unexpected, that makes you fall in love with a place. Yesterday I had such an experience in Bologna. I decided I would go and see the Pinocoteca ( which is in the university quarter) and then walk on into the old city. Guidebooks had mentioned it had a nice collection of works from the region with some better known names, such as Rafeallo and Tintoretto with one piece each - what i found just blew me away. I would have to say this is one of the finest collections of "minor" works I have seen, it set my heart racing and kept me there for hours. There were few tourists and the ones that were there were mostly Italian, so often I had a room totally to myself, not only that, photography without a flash was allowed.
Where do i begin??? A breath taking collection of 14th and early 15th century religious art- and a beautiful Giotto the centrepiece of the collection. The pieces were at eye level most without glass so you could get so close that you could see every minor detail- and what gorgeous detail. Forgive me me for waxing lyrical- it's the best 4 euros I have spent in a long time!
So here goes......
St George and the dragon by Vitale da Bologna 1330
And then the Madonnas..... this piece by Tomaso da Modena circa 1345 "Anconetta"
left: Pseudo Jacopino1340
"Pollitico"
and right:
pseudo Jacopino
"Visione di san
Romualdo
1329
a stairway to heaven
circa 1360
Madonna col Bambino e Angeli
Simone di Fillipo detto dei Crocefissi
circa 1378-1380
Madonna col Bambino, Angeli e il Donatore Giovanni da Piacenza
Simone di Fillipo detto dei Crocefissi
circa 1365-1370
Pollitico
Lippo di Dalmasio
1394
Incoronazione della Vergine. Cristo Benedicent(?)
left: Simone di Fillipo detto dei Crocefissi
circa 1375-1380
Saint'Elena in Adorazione della Croce ed una Monaca
right: Simone di Fillippo detto dei crocefissi
circa 1350-1355
Arcangelo Gabriele
7 comments:
So beautiful really stunning -so jealous wish I was with you
Lots of fodder there for someone like you!
What makes these minor works? They look damned spectacular to me!! And is that gold leaf?
Feel completely ignorant about art history, and these are so old - 1390s, going to go and look that up as a point of reference.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_II_of_England
There you go - historical context if anyone is interested.
Yes gold leaf and lots of it, and punched and pressed for texture.
MINOR minor my left foot,they are stunning
Gorgeous gorgeous paintings - and from the days when painters were artisans, not "personalities" - !
Thanks for posting ... something to come back to...
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